“Allegations of Assault against Church Priest in Alsace: Investigation & Appeal for Other Potential Victims”

2023-05-10 17:22:05

The 69-year-old man of the Church is currently accused of a single act of assault, which dates back to the summer of 1993 and which is now time-barred. The victim of the one who was at the time a priest in the Sundgau region, in the south of Alsace, is a mass server, then 13 years old.

But the latter only denounced the facts in October 2021, confiding in the Archbishop of Strasbourg Luc Ravel. He made a report to the courts and on October 27, 2021 the public prosecutor of Mulhouse, Edwige Roux-Morizot, requested the services of the gendarmerie (the Altkirch research brigade) as part of a Preliminary investigation.

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“Whether it is sexual assault or more serious rape, the facts are unfortunately time-barred, but our concern is to ensure that there are no other victims”, underlined the magistrate at a press conference on Wednesday.

“It will be necessary to verify whether, within the framework of his very numerous activities, the priest would have made other victims, young men or young women. The facts denounced by the victim seem credible. A psychiatric expertise has been commissioned and gives credibility to his statements. He concealed the facts for a long time, but a malaise set in, a trauma which finally had to be expressed”, continued Ms. Roux-Morizot.

The canon, who refutes any inappropriate gesture, “has been in contact with a lot of young people, has organized summer camps, in France and abroad”, she added.

The prosecutor therefore appeals to all people who might have been victims of touching, whatever the period. Two telephone numbers are available: 03.89.40.96.39 or 03.89.08.31.81.

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